Lil' Bit O' Everything Soup

When I don't use all of my veggies up I like to chop them up and freeze them to use in soup later. You can substitute in whatever you like/need to get used up!
2 stalks celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 green chili, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 small diakon, diced (Japanese Raddish)

1 sunchoke, peeled and diced

2 potatoes, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1/2 cup corn

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans Italian stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 can chicken breast meat, drained

water

oil

salt and pepper

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add in celery, onion, chili, garlic, diakon, and sunchoke. Cook 4-5 minutes until tender. Add in potatoes and carrots. Pour in enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Add in corn, kidney beans, tomatoes, and chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat 20-3o minutes. The longer you simmer the more the flavors blend together.

Chicken and Chayote Hash

I made one of the recipes from my Chayote Squash post. It was called Chicken with Chayote Squash and Potato Casserole, but it's not really a casserole at all so I am calling it a HASH. This was really yummy, and MY KIDS ATE IT REALLY WELL. My husband said it would be yummy as a breakfast, with out the chicken with some fried or scrambled eggs.

1 pound chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 pound potatoes, chopped

3 chayote squashes, peeled and chopped (I used disposable gloves when peeling, worked out great!)

1 small onion, finley chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped (I did this more for the benefit of my kids, leave them bigger if you want)

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, add in onion, pepper, garlic, salt and black pepper. Saute 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, add in chicken. (I seasoned my chicken with a Bell Pepper and Herb Rub) Cook 1-2 minutes on each side. Add in potatoes, squash. Stir together and cover. Reduce heat to medium. Stir occasionally until potatoes are soft and chicken is cooked through. Stir in parsley and tomatoes. Cook another 2-3 minutes until tomatoes are heated through.

Sausage and Veggie Scramble with Banana Zucchini Muffins

I like having breakfast for dinner. I am not a huge morning person, so usually breakfast is cereal or instant oatmeal. Not that a smoothie or pancakes or even something like this would take too long, but really I am just not in the mood to do it in the rush of getting a husband off to work and kids off to school.

Banana Zucchini Muffins

3 eggs

1 cup applesauce (or 3/4 cup oil)

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

3 smashed bananas

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon plus (pumpkin pie spice)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 325*. (I used a kitchen aid, but you could easily do this by hand in a large bowl) Beat eggs until until light yellow and frothy. Add applesauce, sugars, zucchini, bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together wet and dry ingredients just until incorporated. Stir in cranberries. Divide into lined muffin tins. (This will make 3 dozen) Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake, remove to wire rack to cool. (The flavors really come out when they are cool)

Sausage and Veggie Scramble

2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 green bell pepper diced

3 green onions with tops sliced

2 large sausages (I used sun-dried tomato chicken sausage with basil and tomatoes), cut into small pieces (I quartered and sliced)

12 eggs

1/2 cup mozarella cheese, shredded

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add veggies and sausage, cook 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add in eggs. Mix together and let cook 3-5 minutes before stirring, repeat until desired doneness. Stir in cheese, mix to melt.

Cafe Rio Dinner

Okay, so I know every recipe blog out there has Cafe Rio Pork, but it's pretty much a staple around here so I had to add it to my blog too! When we make Cafe Rio Pork, it has to include Cilantro Lime Dressing, Cilantro Lime Rice and Bean and Cheese Dip! We serve it with lettuce, salsa, sour cream, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, large and small flour tortillas. That way we are covered if we want a Pork Salad, Pork Burrito, or Pork Tacos!

For the Pork:

Large Pork Butt Roast (I usually shoot for 3-5 lbs because we like leftovers!)

1 can Coke 1 large can green enchilada sauce, divided

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 cup brown sugar

Place pork roast, fatty side up in crock pot. Pour coke over roast. Cover and cook on low 5-7 or high 3-5 hours. At this point I trim the fat off the top and throw it out. Remove most of the liquid from the crock pot to a large measuring cup. Shred pork. Discard about 1/2 the liquid leaving about 1 cup. Add 1/2 large can of enchilada sauce, cumin and brown sugar to remaining liquid. Pour over pork, mix and continue cooking 30-60 minutes.

For the Rice:

2-4 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups rice

2 cans chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons lime juice

4 tablespoons cilantro

Mix all ingredients in a rice cooker or pot. Cook until done. (I do it in the microwave, about 7 minutes on high, then I stir it and put it back in for 30-45 min at 50% power)

For the Dressing:

1 1/3 cup sour cream

3/4 cup mayonaise

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

4 tablespoons enchilada sauce (from can above)

1 bunch cilantro

2 garlic cloves

1/8 teaspoon tabasco

4 tablespoons lime juice

Blend!

For Bean Dip:

1/2 cup cream cheese

16 oz. refried beans

5 drops tabasco

1/3 cup green onions, chopped

1 cup monterey/colby jack cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

1/4 cup parsley

1 cup cheddar cheese (on top)

Using a hand mixer mix all ingredients except cheddar cheese. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350* 20 minutes. This may sound like a lot of work to do all the sides, but really it takes less than an hour, and IT'S SO WORTH IT! This is the order I do it in:

1. Start Rice

2. Drain pork and mix sauce

3. Make bean dip and put in oven

4. Make dressing

5. Chop lettuce and tomatoes.

Sausage, Spinach and Tomato Pasta

I love this recipe. (DISCLAIMER: I love Spinach!) I really wasn't in the mood to cook dinner tonight, (I was working on getting our basement ready for sheetrock all day) but this was quick and easy and I love the flavor from the fresh tomatoes and spinach. Honestly my kids and husband weren't as impressed, I probably could have chopped the spinach up smaller and used about 1/2 to appease them.

1 lb. italian sausage

3 cans Italian style diced stewed tomatoes

1 box medium shells

2 1/2 cups water

4 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup Parmesean Cheese, grated

8 cups spinach leaves

Cook sausage in a 12 in. skillet. Drain stewed tomatoes into a bowl, reserve 1 cup for later use, add tomatoes, remaining liquid, water, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pasta. Cover and cook 13-15 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occaisionally. Add in tomatoes, spinach, Parmesan cheese and reserved liquid. Cook 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted, stirring constantly.

Ham and Veggie Quiche

This is a delicious quiche! It was my first attempt at baking one and it turned out to be easy and delicious! We also had fresh squeezed orange juice because most of our box of navels was starting to go bad. About 1/2 way through eating I remembered that I wanted to make some fresh blueberry muffins to go with the quiche, so maybe I will go and make them for dessert instead!

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
1 cup chopped ham (I used sandwich meat)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or Swiss cheese (my hubby doesn't love swiss but it would be yummy if you do!)
1 cup chopped broccoli florettes
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 diced tomato
1/2 onion chopped
8 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
optional
sour cream, salsa, extra cheese

Preheat oven to 375* Roll out pie crust and place in pie tin. (I used a Pampered Chef Deep Dish Pie Plate, if you aren't using a very deep pan you will have to half the egg/milk mixture, and possibly use less veggies!) Mix together ham, cheese, and veggies. Fill pie crust with veggie mix (should come up about 2/3 of dish) Mix together eggs, milk, salt, mustard, and pepper. Pour over veggies. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with sour cream, extra cheese and salsa if desired.

Cabbage Chili w/ GREEN Chili Lime Corn Chips

Remember the Super Bowl Corn Chips that Bountiful Baskets offered? Well, we were cheering for the Steelers, SO I threw the green tortillas into the freezer for St. Patricks Day! Today I sprayed them with a little oil and sprinkled with salt and chili lime rub and baked them at 350* for 15 minutes, to serve with our chili! Yummy!

1 lb. ground turkey
2 small onions, chopped
1 red or green pepper, chopped
About 3 (hot) chilies (to taste), finely chopped (I used hot banana peppers)
1 Cabbage, chopped
3 fresh tomatoes
1-2 cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
1-2 cans kidney beans
2 small yellow squash, chopped (optional)
2 heaped teaspoons of cumin seed;
2 teaspoons curry powder
pepper to taste

Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add turkey and onions. Cook 5 minutes. Add in cabbage, tomatoes, squash, beans, peppers and seasonings. I had a very large cabbage, so I used 2 cans of the tomatoes and beans, remember the cabbage will cook down quite a bit though. The chili will seem very dry at this point, but as the cabbage simmers it will release lots of liquid. Simmer over low heat 30 minutes stirring occaisionally.

Whenever I cook something like Chili, I like to see what older veggies I have in the fridge that I can add. It's a great way to add more vitamins and usally doesn't effect the flavor of the chili. I didn't have any this time, but when we get brussels again (not my favorite veggie) I am going to try adding them to chili!

Recipe adapted from The Giant Cabbage

Chimichurri Steak Salad

I love chimichurri! The dressing on this salad is also used as a marinade for the steak after it has been cooked. I cut up the steak into bite size pieces before placing it on the salad. The raw garlic gave a nice bite to the dressing.

Steak
1 lb boneless top sirloin steak aprox. 3/4 in. thick
1/2 tsp salt
Chimichurri
1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar (I used balsalmic)
1/2 tsp salt
1 garlic clove pressed
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper (optional, I didn't throw that in)

1 medium sunchoke (optional)
Salad
1 head lettuce, chopped
1 cup tomatoes diced

Heat grill pan over medium heat 5 minutes. As the pan heats rub steak with salt. Place steak into pan and cook 6-8 minutes on each side for medium doneness. As steak cooks prepare chimichurri by mixing together in a small bowl. Remove steaks from heat and top with 3 tablespoons chimichurri. Let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice lettuce and cut tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Toss with remaining chimichurri sauce. Divide salad onto serving plates and thinly slice steak and arrange over top of salad.

yeild: 4 servings, calories per serving: 330

Recipe adapted from TPC 29 Minutes to Dinner

notes: This is one I won't double because 1 lb of steak will be plenty for my family. I plan on making some garlic bread to serve with this meal.